Netherlands

See also: netherlands

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From nether (lower) +‎ lands, the country being very low-lying, with a great part below sea level. Either a calque or a parallel formation to Dutch Nederland.

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈnɛðələndz/
  • (General American) enPR: thʹər-ləndz, IPA(key): /ˈnɛðɚləndz/
  • Audio (UK):(file)
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Hyphenation: Neth‧er‧lands

Proper noun

the Netherlands (usually uncountable, plural the Netherlands)

  1. The Kingdom of the Netherlands. A country in Western Europe, consisting of four constituent countries: the per se, Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten.
  2. The main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located primarily in Western Europe bordering Germany and Belgium. Capital and largest city: Amsterdam.
    • For quotations using this term, see Citations:Netherlands.
  3. (rare, chiefly historical) the Low Countries, a region of Western Europe located around the low-lying areas in and around the RhineMeuseScheldt delta, including the countries of the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.

Synonyms

  • Holland (formally refers to the provinces of North Holland and South Holland, but often colloquially used to refer to the entire country)
  • Benelux (collective term for the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg)

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

Netherlands pl (plural only)

  1. (slang) Alternative letter-case form of netherlands.

See also

  • Appendix:Countries of the world

Further reading